
Which is better for you to have beautiful, sun-kissed skin? Tanning bed vs spray tan? The spray tanning method has been available since 1960, and it has become a famous solution for tanning as people are afraid to be exposed to the UV rays caused by the sun. The spray tanning process is spraying chemicals into your skin which has a primary composition of DHA, and it causes a reaction with your dead skin cells that can result in a darker complexion. You may do this kind of process in your own homes or into salons.
On the other hand, tanning beds have been around since 1950 and are known to be declining. These beds will soak your body into UV lights, resulting in the tanning of your skin. Just like spray tanning, you can get this process done by purchasing your tanning bed, or you can also go to the salon.
The Tanning Bed Vs Spray Tan, Which Is More Significant To Be Used
A lot of debates about which is better is it the tanning bed or the spray tan, and this will depend on what your goals will be and what your needs. But if you are looking at which has a higher risk when it comes to your health, tanning beds have a higher health risk relative to its benefits. The dermatologist known as Dr. Zoe Draelos said that if you want to have tan skin, you should use a spray tan which is much safer to be used. It is a safe alternative to tanning by using natural or artificial UV or ultraviolet light.
It is also recommended that you avoid tanning beds, as you can also acquire the benefits of tanning beds in different ways. Being responsibly exposed to the sun is much better than being exposed to the tanning bed. Both the tanning booths and spray tanning have a spot in their user’s hearts, and people have different preferences for achieving the tan they want for their skin.
What Is Spray Tanning?
When you choose the process of spray tanning, it will use a spray tan machine to coat your skin with a tanning solution. The sunless spray tans will cover your skin with different chemicals, especially the DHA or the Dihydroxyacetone. DHA is not a dye or a paint, but it works by giving a chemical reaction to your skin. The DHA will react with the amino acids found in the dead skin cells, and it will turn into a tan.
For a typical spray tan, you can choose from the two options. The first one is you can go into a tanning salon to get professional help for spray tanning, especially from trained providers of this kind of service. Getting help from them can give you a more significant outcome than doing it by yourself at your home. Spray tan also requires you to re-applicate at least every week to keep that tan in your skin.
You can also choose to have a spray tan at your home. Just make sure that you have to use the spray gun in a regular down and up movement to have a streak-free and nice balance from spray tanning. It is also almost impossible for you to do it on your own, you should ask someone who can help you with this at home. Always remember wherever you apply the spray tanning, this will still last for about seven days. That is why you should use it every week.
What Is A Tanning Bed, And How Does It Work To Tan Your Skin?
Tanning bed processes are available in your local gyms, salons, and spas, and you can also do it at home. Tanning beds come with a group of UV tanning bulbs inside a mattress that is shaped like a coffin. These bulbs should be turned on when you are inside the tanning bed. You will soak your body with UV light that causes your skin to be golden bronze within just hours.
Most tanning beds only have a UVA light, although there are also tanning beds that use both the UVB and UVA light, and there are only a few tanning beds that use the UVB light. These are called bronzing beds. Just like spray tanning, you can also find tanning beds in your local gyms, spas, salons, and you can also have this at home. You can purchase a tanning bed.
A lot disapproves of the tanning beds of known cancer societies and dermatology groups all around the world. There are countries in the world that make tanning beds illegal for home use. One of these countries is Australia, and many states have made tanning beds illegal for use for 18 years and under without the permission of their parents or doctors.
No one ever suggested that anyone use the tanning bed for tanning their skin or for any beauty purposes. Many countries also consider the tanning bed a carcinogen that has the same level as asbestos or cigarettes. But there are still people who choose tanning beds as a way of tanning their skins. As per their reason, they see benefits with tanning beds that they cannot see with another process of tanning their hides.
The Pros And Cons Of Spray Tanning Into Your Skin
- You can color any time of the year – using a spray tan will allow you to have luminous sun-drenched looking skin at any time of the year, without you being exposed to the sunlight or any UVa rays that you can find in the tanning beds.
- The few health risks from having a spray tan – There are known to be a few health risks you can get from spray tanning, and cancer societies and dermatologists are recommending using a spray tan and self-tanning for you. To get the golden skin you wanted without getting the risk of contracting skin cancer.
- You can have an even color and coverage – If the person spraying you is well trained, you can have a perfectly even color in your whole body. Having a good spray tan will give you a pleasant color more than having a tan using natural sunlight.
- You can do spray tanning almost anywhere – You can do your spray tanning in practically any location possible at any time of the year; you can get the tan you want, whatever the climate is. It is also an excellent idea for you to have a spray tan before you indulge in a nice vacation, so you will have a beautiful color before arriving at your vacation area.
- The spray tan can help you sculpt your body – A trained spray tanner or the ones you see at the salon can sculpt your body on some levels by using various shades of tan to highlight your physical features. For instance, your abs or can also minimize unwanted features like your cellulite. There are a lot of bodybuilders who are known to use spray tan before they compete.
- Spray tanning is much more affordable – When comparing indoor tanning beds, spray tanning is much more affordable. Paying a few hundred dollars will already provide you a basic setup for the spray tanning included in the spray tanning tent and the pieces of equipment used for spray tanning.
- The salon can provide you the best spray tan – If you want the most incredible spray tan for your body, you should go into your local salon and have the trained experts cover you using the spray gun. But it requires you to visit the salon for at least seven to ten days for you to keep your tan. A typical spray tan will cost you around $30 – $50.
- The home system of spray tan will usually require you to have help from someone – There are many home spray tan in the market that can give you the result you ever want. But the proper way for you to do the spray tanning method is to do the movement in an up and down manner. That is why you should ask for help from someone if you are going for some home spray tan.
Some people got great results by just spraying themselves and without the help of others. Most of the time, you will use a spray tan solution if you use it at home. You wouldn’t want to deal with having a streaky and ugly result that you have applied on your own.
- The frequency of applying – To have the best results, it is best that you reapply every seven days. It can make you tired and make you think it is much more expensive, mainly if you apply spray tan through the salon.
- Using a spray tan will require you to be naked – If you want to achieve the most remarkable result of your tan and don’t want to have any awkward lines from a spray tan, you will have to be naked. Some people think of this situation as uncomfortable, especially since many salons don’t have gender spray tanning.
- It can cause a dreaded orange look in your skin – Although this kind of risk has been lessening over time and as the spray tanning process improves, there is still a risk that the spray tan color will not blend into your skin-poor application and your skin condition. It will lead to the horrid orange tan or streaking.
- It would be best if you washed your feet and hands as soon as possible – Spray tan may cause a different effect on your hands and, most especially on your feet. If you are standing inside a pool of spray tan, the bottom part of your feet may have a brown effect that is unnatural. You can use a spray tan stick on your feet when spray tanning.
- It might not be healthy for you to inhale any DHA – There are no significant health issues when you apply DHA to your skin, but you can have concerns regarding DHA, most especially if you inhaled them. As the spray tanners are aerosolized, there is an excellent chance that you can inhale the DHA while you are applying spray tan.
- The solutions from spray tan are smelly – The spray tans are often known to have a faulty odor, and wherever you use the answer into your body, the smell will stick for a few hours. It means that you will walk smelly after having a spray tan session. Luckily, many modern spray tan solutions nowadays are known to have no issues of having faulty odor.
The Pros And Cons Of A Tanning Bed
- It can help alleviate the seasonal affective disorder – Some tanning bed users say that tanning bed helps them mitigate the blues connected with the seasonal affective disorder.
- It provides only a tiny amount of protection from the sun – The base tans you can find in tanning beds can give you only a tiny amount of protection from the sun; it can only provide you up to SPF 2. It also provides users a small amount of protection from UVB.
- Tan from a tanning bed can last for a long time – If you get your tan from a tanning bed, indeed, it will last for a very long time. The range of it can last from a few weeks up to months. It will only depend on how frequently you use the tanning bed and how dark it causes you.
- It can cause eye cancer – Having a tan from tanning beds can cause you to have eye cancer, most especially if you are not wearing any goggles during your session in the tanning bed.
- It doesn’t have any UVB radiation – Most of the tanning beds you can find in the salon or the market only provide the UVA, and it doesn’t have the light from the UVB. Manufacturers thought that the UVA is much less harmful to your skin than the UVB light, leading to sunburns. But a lot of us, even experts, know that UVA lights are also dangerous for our health.
- You can contract premature wrinkles and aging – The tanning beds can cause you to have premature aging and wrinkles as you age older.
Bottomline
When asking which is better, is it the tanning spray or the tanning bed, there is an understandable answer regarding this question. Spray tanning is much better than using the tanning bed. Having a tan using the process of a tanning bed can cause a lot of risk to your health which is not worth it.